Time Warner, what have you done to me?

I love new technology — especially when it does its intended purpose makes my life easier. The new DVR set-up from Time Warner Cable is not doing it for me.

It’s not the fundamentals I’m struggling with, but the execution. Last weekend, I tried ordering “Up” (or was it “Up in the Air”?) on On Demand. The system kept timing out, then telling me On Demand was not available at the moment. There was an 800 number on the screen, so I called. The automated message started off by telling me they were experiencing heavy call volume, and if my issue could wait, I should call back.

My darn movie was going to pair beautifully with the pint of B&J I’d just scored, making my “issue” imperative.

After holding for 18 minutes and 38 seconds, I hung up and decided to troubleshoot on my own. I shut off the box, rebooted it, changed channels, etc. Nothing.That’s only the beginning of my frustrations. I missed my (second?) favorite CW show earlier this week because all my pre-set scheduled recordings didn’t hold. And then, when I went through to reset everything, it wouldn’t allow me to pick one day only on shows that are on daily (I only need Fridays for News 10 @ 4).

The one plus: you can now add a minute to either side of your recording so the show doesn’t cut off. Other than that, I’m not impressed.

I will say, though, my relationship with this system is less than a week old, so maybe I just need an adjustment period.

148 Responses

Okay folks, just read through the blog. Kristi, thanks for starting this discussion. Truth of the matter is this technology is not innovative nor an upgrade. There is no doubt that the new navigator guide is not an “upgrade” but a downgrade for all the reasons mentioned here. I have family that works at TW and they stated that the reason that this supposedly “upgrade” went through was a money issue. The new system is “homegrown”, developed my TW’s own software folks (their dev lead should be fired for allowing an inferior product such as this get launched). You see by launching their own system, they avoid paying a third party for this service. They launched it too soon with several bugs and features that are secondary to what they had. Too bad they didn’t keep customer needs in mind. I for one will be looking at other services (TiVo, DirecTV, etc..) and will not add additional TW services such as digital phone. In the long run, they will lose customers over this archaic system.

I like the new Navigator! It is different but I believe better. I do have one particular request which is the same as others. Same channel/Same time selection and “go to end” on recordings. It does drive me crazy that we get some programs cut off but that is the stations’ errors not the DVR box. It can only do what the stations send it. That fourth arrow for fassssst forward/reverse would be a nice upgrade but I can live without it.

Most of peoples complaints seem to be they just haven’t explored the new system and found the new configurations. Most are there.

I learned last night that the A/V (auxiliary) inputs that are on the front and the back of the box have been killed off. That’s a HUGE problem for me because I have an older LCD that has one set of standard RCA inputs (red/white/yellow), one set of component inputs, one HDMI input, s-video with audio inputs, a computer monitor input and two coax inputs. So, with the DVR, a DVD player and a Wii, I need to buy at least one new cable for the DVD player (S-video) or a new Wii cable (HDMI or component or s-video). I was able to get a *free* HDMI cable from Time Warner when I complained about the new set-up so I had to potentially buy only one cable. If I could ask for a fix, it would be to restore those inputs to pass through the signal from a second device.

This new DVR system is obviously INferior to the old one. Why TWC did this I have no idea, and whoever is responsible should be fired.

DirecTV never looked so good, and I’ll predict their sales locally are going to go thru the roof.

This has nothing to do with, “Oh, you’ll get used to it,” it’s just not as good. TWC should do a random poll, over the phone, with their subscribers. Let the customers decide what they would prefer to have.

I thought it was just me being an old fart who can’t adapt to change. I am slowly getting used the the change but despite the hype from TWC I see little that seems better. I am confused by the series recording options and don’t like that when I finish and delete a show I recorded that it defaults to live TV instead of the recorded list. This list would grow if I spent some time with the system while writing.

I’m gonna come out and say I prefer this system to the old one. For me it seems MUCH faster and more responsive. That said, I do have a problem. At least once a day, the sound going out to my TV goes white noise. The only way to get it to play the show sound again is to shut the box and the TV down and start over.

I’m having a problem with the DVR as while I’m watching a recorded show the sound turns to breakup gibberish. I have to either rewind (which temporarily fixes the problem)or I like this, to pull the plug out and wait a period of time before replugging the power in. Last night I had 80percent taped and I had scheduled some recordings and the DVR responded to “Your dvr space is full to capacity” and I had to delete some previous recorded shows I wanted to see but couldn’t.

This is like when I used to use RoadRunner, after months of frustrations I finally switched internet carriers, looks like I may want to explore that for my TV viewing.

Krisit – on your other post, you mention that you will choose only 5 questions and do it “later in the week” Do you think the TW customer service guy will take more than 5 and answer them like immediately. You have more than enough questions/topics now. Why do we have to wait until thurs. or friday. Some of us want to tape the Master’s coverage thurs. while at work.

jd, the one thing they asked when they agreed to this was that I come over to their main office and have a visual demonstration, in addition to the Q&A period. Unfortunately, I do not think I will make it over till late this week or early next week.

They do insist, though, that their customer service team at 869-5500 can help with any immediate questions.

I went to Dish Network, and I’m glad I made the switch. Don’t believe the propaganda. Satellite tv service is just as good, if not better than cable service. Funny thing is, my satellite tv service performs better than Time Warner ever did. And that’s real. :)

TWC, what were you thinking? The Navigator is a disaster. I feel bad for Seniors, they had all they could do to learn your old system. And now you’ve made watching TV so stressful for people of all ages.

Why Time Warner has the right to remove customer DVR content when they have a service pack update. Do customers have any control over what they can keep on their DVR’s because if you read their contract they own the DVR and they can effectively do what they want ?

What’s the hold up. My brother has FIOS TV and the menu is lightning fast, the cannels change lightning fast, and the picture is better.

This new TW menu/box is so slow it is so frusterating. Everyone in my neighborhood also is complaining about it but we have no other options! Direct TV isn’t the answer, please bring fios tv to the area!

I must admit the New TWC Navigator has taken some time to get familiar with, but the more I used it, the more I began to enjoy the new features.

Most new Technology changes causes us grief in the beginning, such as new Microsoft Windows programs with its glitches, EZ pass lanes, or when email providers change their user interface, and you have to learn to send an email all over again. However once you become familiar with the technology changes, they usually make life easier in the long run for all, we just have to go through the growing pains.

Have TWC in Glens Falls and have hated it ever since the switch. Very Very close to canceling due to different interface, much slower, my prime time on demand shows are not available as quickly as before, and programming sucks….NOT TWC’S fault, but when the heck is the Speed channel going to come up with some new shows…

My weekday morning routine included watching 72 (Soapnet in the kitchen or bedroom while getting ready for work and/or school. My Saturday morning routine included watching 54 (CMT) music videos while cleaning. I can’t get either channel on these TV’s because my digital box is only in the living room. I am very disappointed and have no idea what is going on with the Newmans and Abbotts!

I’m an older user and was dreading the conversion and those around me were dreading putting up with my impending frustrations. When the little brochure arrived in the mail with instructions I sat down and read the WHOLE thing. When I awoke one morning and the DVR box was buzzing and the sound on the TV was REALLY loud I knew something was up. I touched the DVR box and it stopped buzzing. I lowered the volume on the TV and dove in. The first 20 minutes or so were very frustrating but I grabbed the instruction booklet and plowed through the various scenarios. Within an hour I was a pro–SO easy!! The search function is a VAST improvement. Only thing I miss is the skip to the end feature as there are 2 shows where we only watch the beginning and ends. On the whole it’s a much improved system. Imagine the surprise of my family members to hear that I hadn’t sent the DVR sailing out the window! None of my content had been eliminated either. Thank you Time Warner–just don’t go changing anything again for a LONG time!

I used to be able to record say a sporting event on one channel, then pause it and go watch something else for a while. When I would return to the game it would be right where I left it and I could FFW through commercials as I’d “have some in the bank”. This new POS won’t keep the other channel paused. This is NOT an improvement.

A comment on a previous comment – yes the ability to add time to the beginning or end of a show is new for recording a series. Yes, you have alway been able to do that on single recordings but that was not the point. It’s the weekly or daily shows that were getting truncated and previously you couldn’t do anything about.

Another tip – I hate the fast forward and rewind doesn’t just stop where you want it to but there is a work around – just use the pause button to stop and it will not make that stupid adjustment. :)

I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed this but those three ports on the front of the DVR box (red, white, yellow) no longer work. I had my DVD player plugged into that and my Xbox plugged into the three ports on the back of the TV. Everything worked beautifully.

With the “upgrade” now those ports on the front of the box no longer worked. I called Time Warner to find out what happened and they told me that w/ the “upgrade” they disabled those ports b/c it was too much of a power draw. The tech then went on to tell me that I could plug my device into the back of my TV. When I explained that those ports were already in use I was told to go buy a splitter. WTF? For the amount I pay in cable service they should GIVE me a splitter.

The whole “upgrade” is terrible. I’m seriously considering switching to another cable provider. The guide rarely works like it should, none of my shows record when I want them to – if at all – and the fast forward this is annoying.

Anyone that thinks this upgrade is terrible is just scared of change and/or technology. This “upgrade” has been in affect in major time warner markets for quite sometime. When I moved here a couple of years ago and saw that previous sham of a dvr system I thought I hit a time warp on the thruway. You can now see how much time you have left in the show you’re watching and it’s nice in stead of that ugly green and red bar. You can search for show’s faster, your dvr functions are in fact WAY better because now only new programs will record instead of having repeats take up your memory. How can you complain about the fast forward. Now you can fast forward x3 without going too far and then having to rewind. You just fast forward, when you see your program start you hit play. OH MY GOD! IT GOES BACK 3 SECONDS! CALL THE POLICE! It’s better than going too far forward. It’s new to you people, give it time. If you can’t figure it out after a week or too then maybe you’re too stupid for cable television.

So according to TWC they want to make multi room DVR possible…so how does that happen? They used to charge extra for a second DVR box, are they going to eliminate that? Hope so. Anyway I am not too impressed with the new system at all, makes channel surfing a nightmare, the channels are always 2 or 3 behind what the display says or there is just a black screen. It also doesn’t get “last channel” correct half the time. Hate it!

Oh and I also HATE the “IN Progress” thing that comes up on the premium on demand (i.s. showtime) channels. It’s there even if you watch something all the way through. If I am done watching something, I am DONE and it needs to go away!

My wife and I sat down to watch a movie Sunday night…normally our thing. It’s been consecutive weeks now where the movie quality is horrendous. I’ve just been told to reboot the system and it’ll magically work. I’m calling today to switch to the Dish Network on top of my house from the previous owner…I’m tired of dealing with their shoddy system.

Dan #131,
“Anyone that thinks this upgrade is terrible is just scared of change and/or technology.”

Nice generalized statement. In fact, many of us who hate the new system do so because of highly useful features on the old system that are completely gone now.

I thought I was one of the few who used the “Record to VCR” function. The comments have shown many people did. It’s gone, and there’s no comparable feature replacing it. That’s not a fear of change/technology. That’s reduced service.

Fine tuning programming is also gone. When CBS Sunday night is knocked off schedule by sports in the afternoon, I can’t adjust my programming to catch just the show I want. Will Cold Case be on from 10:20 to 11:20? Too bad. I have to record 10:00 to 11:30. Thirty minutes of space filled for no reason. Personally, my backlog is rarely so full that that’s a problem, but for many others it would be. Again, that’s not a fear of change/technology, it’s a demonstrable diminishing of service.

After a few weeks of use, I’ve gotten used to some of the new features and the new way of doing the old features, and there are some things I like about the new system, but none of that excuses them for eliminating or making more difficult some of the popular features.

And BTW, when you close with a statement like “If you can’t figure it out after a week or too then maybe you’re too stupid for cable television.”, it doesn’t help your argument of calling other people stupid when you can’t even spell “two” properly.

After reading all this, I don’t feel so bad for being irritated at Time Warner’s DVR. They act like your the problem. This thing has so many problems its not funny. I’m going back to using Tivo starting today.

First, I’ve been a TW customer for over 30 years. I also teach economics and will on occassion copy a show (Charlie Rose) to my DVD recorder to show in class. Well, the new Navigator™ was installed which initially didn’t display the channel on the SA 8240 so I called tech support and they arranged for a home visit. I also wasn’t able to advance through the Guide w/ the older remote. The new remote, which everyone should have been sent, solved the issues. Well, I wanted to record a Charlie Rose interview for class and when to List, but there was no “copy to VCR” feature. I called tech support again and was told the feature would return, RSN. I then checked on TIVO, which would allow this, so I could buy a TIVO box ($299, a fixed cost) and $2 more/month for their service. This would allow me to copy to my DVD recorder. I then called TW again about getting the cable card one needs and asked the support person again about the lack of copying to a recorder. This tech said I was only the 2nd person to ask about this, he then said one could replay the saved show and then replay it to copy to one’s DVD recorder. Unfortunately, when this is the only thing one can do, as the recorder will copy what it showing. In the past, I could copy and watch another show. Looks like I’ll be upgrading to TIVO.

Installed the Tivo over the weekend and it really is a excellent working device! You can do so much with it, its hard to believe Time Warners is so far behind. Navigateing thru a recorded show is much easier! More ways to go back and forth and to the end etc.

I really wish someone would call me from TW that cares enough to listen. There support people are really hard to deal with and their software that runs their DVR really needs to go thru a more comprehensive quality check. I hate to say this, but I really think they have lost their way. They were so good five or so years ago.

I have been using an external hard drive for years with the old software (called SARA), since beginning of 2007. You get used to 660GB of space, it’s much better than the 160GB HD the DVR comes with. I recently purchased a 1TB HD- that’s even easier to get used to. Recent TWC DVRs in this area downgraded to 150GB however. So in the next few weeks we in Elmira NY will be forced to switch to Navigator software.. TWC has decided to disable the eSATA port in the new Navigator software- so back down to 150GB, with HDTV this is way too little space.. This is all in reference to the Scientific Atlanta 8300HDC DVD we are all stuck with. Anyway, for many others as well as myself this is a dealbreaker. After being with Time Warner Cable since long before the internet was popular, TWC is forcing me to go to Direct TV, or similar. We also have TWC internet phone and high speed cable internet (premium tier). Needless to say with all that, two DVRs, and all the premium channels, our monthly payment to TWC is well over 220 dollars. They shut the external hard drive eSATA port off on purpose- probably along with the other frustrations with the guide to try to get people to watch more TV live.. or something, who knows. They just shot themselves in the foot, that’s all I know.

I hate it, hate it, hate. One day it just didn’t record one of my series shows. Nothing else was being recorded by the way. I hate the fact that I can no longer record something while just flicking through channels. The guide is horrible, all those nice features are gone. And were not gonna speak on that dumb azz rewind and fast forward…just awful. What idiot designed this thing? And why the flicky would you bother something that’s not broke!

I hate this new dvr software. I lost settings when they upgraded and also functions. It used to be I could shut off my tv and it would mute/shut off the dvr at the same time. Now it won’t do that. Plus, the old software allowed you to sort your dvr records by date and or time plus ascending/descending order. Now you can’t do that. I roamed the settings a bit and it now looks like the new software makes it easier for Time Warner to spam advertisement pop-ups at you.

I called the technical support to see if there was a way to get some of the old functions back but he started spewing how the new software is consistent with the industry and it works fine for him. The closest I got was that he offered to send an email to the designers to see what they say but by that point I knew he was just bs’ing me.

Whats with the communication with the DVR box and the remote control!!!!? One minute the remote control works, the next 3 seconds it might work if you aim towards the DVR then the next attemt it works only if you stand on one leg and aim the remote towards the east. In the past the remote was so sensitive you couild control it while it was in your pocket or stuck in your butt. Next problem is with Rev or Fwd, you never are able to stop it where you really want it to . Whats going on. Im hating this crap!!!! And when rebooting…. How many companies does it take to make a darn cable dvr box? Ever noticed how many company logos appear during the course of an hour while to box is rebooting? WTF?

Whats with the communication with the DVR box and the remote control!!!!? One minute the remote control works, the next 3 seconds it might work if you aim towards the DVR then the next attemt it works only if you stand on one leg and aim the remote towards the east. In the past the remote was so sensitive you couild control it while it was in your pocket or stuck in your butt. Next problem is with Rev or Fwd, you never are able to stop it where you really want it to . Whats going on. Im hating this crap!!!! And when rebooting…. How many companies does it take to make a darn cable dvr box? Ever noticed how many company logos appear during the course of an hour while the box is rebooting? WTF?

My DVR worked fine for a long time, then began to act weird. I could not change channels.It seemed like everything just froze up. Could not play back any recorded shows either. Swapped box for a new one, but still the exact same problems. Really frustrated. What is the problem?

My DVR is wonderful I’d be lost without it. I’m a consumer and an employee with DISH and I love my service. My HD 722 receiver can do so many things. First, it’s HD so yes I took full advantage of our HD Free for Life promotion. Second I just purchased the Sling adapter for $99.00 for TV everywhere I love it. I never miss a show with my TV everywhere!